About Us
Recognising the Armed Forces community
The Soldiering On Awards recognise outstanding achievements of those who have served our country, the diverse people and groups who work together in support of the Armed Forces community. We aim to encourage support for this remarkable community by celebrating the achievements of the people, teams, and businesses within it.
Leadership Team
The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe GBE PC
Patron, Soldiering On Awards
Lord Howe was Deputy Leader of the House of Lords between May 2015 and July 2024. He was Minister of State for Defence from May 2015 to 26 July 2019. He is a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
He was educated at Rugby School and Christ Church, Oxford.
Lord Howe served as Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1992 to 1995 and as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence from 1995 to 1997. In opposition he served as Spokesperson for Health from 1997 to 2010.
He joined Barclays Bank in 1973, where he served in a number of managerial and senior managerial posts both overseas and in London before being appointed London director of Adam & Co plc in 1987.
Lord Howe is married with 4 children.
Lieutenant General (Ret'd) Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE
Co-Chair of Judges, Soldiering On Awards
Lieutenant General Richard Nugee was commissioned into the Army in 1986. He served on numerous operational tours in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Cyprus and Afghanistan while at the same time focussing on personnel (HR) roles within the Army and Ministry of Defence. This included instructing at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, being responsible for the organisational design of the Army post the 2010 Defence Review; and latterly spending the last 4 years as Chief of Defence People (i.e. Defence Global HR Director) responsible for central policy for all Service personnel, their families, all Defence Civil Servants and the nation’s veterans. In January 2020 he took on a review of Defence’s approach to delivering carbon net zero by 2050 and is the Defence representative across Government for COP26.
Appointed MBE in 1998, CBE in 2012, CVO in 2016 and CB in 2020 he was awarded the US Legion of Merit for his services in Afghanistan in 2014. He has numerous interests both within Defence and outside, including as a Non-executive director of the NAAFI. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, has an MA in Military Affairs and is a Graduate of the City and Guilds Institute. He is Chair and Trustee of a number of charitable trusts.
“I am delighted to have been asked to co-chair the Soldiering On Awards Judging Panel. The breadth and quality of the submissions will make this both a very hard and yet a hugely rewarding experience.”
Debra Allcock-Tyler
CEO of The Directory of Social ChangeCo-Chair of Judges, Soldiering On Awards
Debra has been the Chief Executive of the Directory of Social Change (DSC) since 2001. DSC exists to support charities to serve their communities and their causes and reaches around 15,000 charities a year through its work. She is a Trustee of In-Kind Direct, a Trustee of the Berkshire Community Foundation, an AAF (Africa Advocacy Foundation) Ambassador for Women and Girls at risk of, or affected by, FGM and other harmful practices and, until very recently, was the Vice Chair of Governors of White Knights Primary School. She was the founder Chair of the Small Charities Coalition. She was a member of the Charity Commission’s SORP Committee for 7 years.
Debra is particularly proud of her 15 years as a voluntary Trade Union Officer and the year she spent working with Youth at Risk. She is a mentor to a number of CEOs and Chairs of Trustee Boards. Debra is a renowned authority in the field of leadership and governance in civil society, and an internationally published author.
“It’s one of the greatest honours, and hardest jobs, to judge these awards. The nominations are always so powerful and inspirational and choosing someone out of a field of so many amazing people and organisations is not easy! But the result is a wonderful celebration event where we can share with the world the brilliant work of our military community.”
Lt. Col. Ren Kapur MBE
Chief Executive Officer
X-Forces Enterprise and Soldiering on Awards
Ren founded X-Forces Enterprise (XFE) in 2013. XFE is the UK’s leading provider of business support and enterprise skills training to the military community, supporting over 2000 members of the military community into business. Soldiering On Awards became a brand of XFE in 2018.
XFE holds Gold Status under the MoD’s Employer Recognition Scheme and Ren is on the Gold Award Association Steering Group. She is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group, Women in Enterprise.
In 2009 Ren was appointed National Champion for Business Administration and Finance by the Education Secretary, and she was awarded MBE for services to Entrepreneurship in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours List 2016.
Martin Wing
Chief Operating Officer
X-Forces Enterprise and Soldiering on Awards
Martin has extensive industry experiences gained over 35 years as an engineer and business consultant. He has led businesses and project teams to achieve their ambitions and has been a business owner for almost 20 years. An engineer by background, Martin began his commercial career with BAE Systems before progressing to support global brands, international government departments, and philanthropic organisations.
He has spent 22 years as a consultant, mostly for US-based management consultancy firm Kepner- Tregoe in Princeton, leading their European operation for five years until 2013. More recently he has built out the European operational capacity of Brazilian firm Integration, where he doubled the size of the operation and led a project recognised by the Management Consultants Association as Project of the Year 2017 for work with the UK Department for International Trade.
Martin has now moved from a Non-Executive Chairman role to Chief Operating Officer and Chairman of X-Forces Enterprise, Soldiering On Awards and X-Emergency Services.
He leads on organisational scale-up, strategy implementation, governance, and operational delivery for the organisations from their London-based headquarter.
Debbie Boundy
Soldiering On Academy Manager
Debbie is a seasoned Learning and Development professional with over 30 years of experience in Human Resources, Training, and Development.
She began her career in the public sector, spending 16 years in emergency services, where she developed a strong foundation in her field. During this time, she spent four years managing the Prince’s Trust Team Programme for 16–25-year-olds, forging meaningful collaborations with blue light services and the military community.
Debbie then dedicated a decade to Help for Heroes, where she played a pivotal role in managing and delivering transformative courses and career pathways for Wounded, Injured, and Sick Veterans. Her efforts contributed to the success of the Career Recovery and Recovery College programmes, with the latter being recognised as a 2023 finalist in the Soldiering On Awards’ Working Together category.
In October 2024, Debbie joined X-Forces Enterprise as Soldiering On Academy Development Manager, where she continues to lead impactful programmes that empower individuals and communities.
Doug Thomson
Learning, Development and Community Events Manager
After serving 27 years with the British Army, Doug is passionate about helping veterans, service leavers, and their families to find their next pathway. He has worked with the MOD to support WIS service men and women, and with Help for Heroes supporting WIS veterans and their families. Doug first attended a X-Forces course to help understand how to start up his tree surgery business, and joined the team in 2022 to oversee the wide range of training courses and events delivered by XFE for its network.
Zoe Harris
Projects Assistant
Zoé took on the role of Projects Assistant in January 2024 after graduating from the University of Birmingham with a degree in English Literature, bringing copywriting and analytical skills. Zoé also comes from a military family and is passionate about working within a community that she has been part of and shaped by throughout her life.
As Projects Assistant Zoé supports our joint-CEOs and the team in delivering projects and business development with corporate, charity and government clients. Zoé is driven by community engagement and keen to support ongoing projects, while also considering opportunities for XFE’s growth.
Thank you to our Partners
Thank you to our Supporters
X-Forces (XFE) CIC
Registered Office: Level 5A, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 7NF
Head Office: Mountbarrow House, Elizabeth Street, London, SW1W 9RB
Registered in England and Wales under Company Registration Number: 08034041
VAT Registration Number: 164148314
